How to Fill Out the BMI Work Registration Form: Screens and 200% Split

To fill out the BMI work registration form, log into your BMI Online Services account at ols.bmi.com, open Works Registration, click Add New Work, and complete five screens: work info, any sampled or underlying works, writers and publishers with their share percentages, and recording details. The form is free, has no per-song limit, and most submissions appear in your catalog within 24 hours.¹²

Before you touch the form, note one boundary: you must already be affiliated with BMI as a writer or publisher. Writer affiliation is free; publisher affiliation carries a one-time fee that varies by business type.³⁴ If you’re not yet a member, sign up first, then come back to register works.

What to Have Ready Before You Open the Form

Gathering the details in advance is the difference between a five-minute registration and a rejected one. Have the following on hand:

The complete title of the composition, plus any alternate titles it’s known by.⁵
Every writer’s full legal name, entered last name first. If a writer uses a pseudonym, register the name under that pseudonym.⁵
The IPI (Interested Parties Information) number for each writer and publisher. IPI Name Numbers are eleven digits; you can find yours inside your BMI Online Services account.⁶⁷
Publisher names, IPI numbers, and ownership splits. If you haven’t assigned publishing rights, register the work as self-published and BMI will pay both the writer and publisher shares directly to the composer.⁸
Sample clearance details if the composition uses any portion of another copyrighted work: the original writers and publishers. BMI reserves the right to withdraw registration for works it considers to contain infringing material.⁵
The ISWC if one has already been issued. The code is the letter “T” followed by nine digits and a check digit, and helps track royalties internationally.⁹
Recording details, if the song has been recorded: performing artist and release information.

The 200% Split, and Why It Trips People Up

BMI counts ownership on a 200% scale, not the 100% total most people expect. Writers collectively get 100% of the available royalty, publishers collectively get the other 100%, and the two columns together add to 200%.¹⁰

In practice, two co-writers splitting a song evenly each enter a 50% writer share. If each writer has a publisher, each publisher enters a 50% publisher share. The writer column totals 100%, the publisher column totals 100%, the whole registration totals 200%. Publisher shares cannot exceed 100%.¹⁰

When a writer hasn’t assigned performing rights to a publisher, or has assigned only part of them, the unassigned publisher share flows back to the writers in the same ratio as their writer shares. A sole writer with no publisher therefore collects the full 200%.¹⁰ Get the math wrong and the registration gets held for review, so verify the totals before you submit.

Filling Out the Form, Screen by Screen

Once you’re logged into your BMI Online Services account at ols.bmi.com, select Works Registration from the menu, then click Add New Work on the Works Registration home page.¹¹ The portal walks you through five screens.

Screen 1: Work Info

Enter the composition’s title, any alternate titles (marked as “also known as”), the duration, and the genre. If the song was written for a film, television show, or other media production, indicate that on this screen.

Screen 2: Other Works

If your composition samples or is based on another existing work, provide the original’s details here. BMI can reject registrations for arrangements of works still under copyright protection if the paperwork doesn’t show proper authorization.

Screen 3: Publishers and Writers

This is the screen where most errors happen. Add every writer and every publisher, entering names, IPI numbers, and share percentages. Confirm that the writer shares total exactly 100% and the publisher shares total exactly 100%. If no publishing rights have been assigned, indicate that the work is self-published so the publisher share flows back to the writers.

Screen 4: Artists and Recordings

If the composition has been recorded, add the performing artist and recording information. If it hasn’t, you can skip and add it later.

Screen 5: Review and Submit

The final screen summarizes everything you entered. Check the title spelling, writer names, IPI numbers, and share splits against your notes, then submit. BMI sends a confirmation email from bmiworksregistration@bmi.com once the work has been added to your catalog.¹¹

There is no per-song fee, no annual cap, and no ceiling on how many works you can register.¹

Paper Form and Bulk Uploads

BMI offers a downloadable PDF registration form for anyone who prefers to submit on paper.¹² The paper form collects the same core information: title, alternate titles, writer names and addresses, publisher details, and share percentages. If no rights have been assigned to any publisher, you check a designated box and the full publisher share is divided among the writers in the same ratio as their writer shares.⁵ Mail the completed form to BMI. Paper submissions take longer to process than online ones.

For large catalogs, the portal includes a bulk registration tool that accepts a spreadsheet of multiple works in a single upload. The file has to match a specific format so the system can read each field, and BMI provides a downloadable template on its forms page.¹²

After You Submit

Most online registrations appear in your Online Services catalog and in Songview within 24 hours. Submissions that need extra review, typically because of sample clearance questions, conflicting writer information, or share percentage discrepancies, can take up to seven business days.²

Verify the work in two places once it’s active. Inside your account, the Works Catalog section shows every registered composition and its status. Publicly, BMI’s Songview search at repertoire.bmi.com lets anyone look up a work by title, performer, writer, publisher, BMI Work ID, or ISWC.¹³ Songview defaults to results across participating societies, but you can filter to BMI-licensed works or to works where all interests are licensed by BMI.

Check your catalog periodically. Errors in a writer name, IPI number, or share split can misdirect royalties for months before anyone catches them. Under BMI’s publisher agreement, you have nine months from the date of a royalty distribution to report an omission or miscalculation in writing.¹⁴ If you find a mistake in the registration itself, edit the work through the same Works Registration section where you added it.

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BMI. How Much Does It Cost to Register My Songs With BMI
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BMI. How Long Does It Take for an Online Work Registration to Be Processed
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BMI. Joining BMI
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BMI. What Is the Fee to Create a Publishing Company With BMI
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Broadcast Music, Inc. BMI Work Registration Form
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BMI. BMI Member FAQs – What Is an IPI/CAE Number
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ASCAP. All About IPI Numbers
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BMI. I Self-Publish All My Works
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BMI. International Musical Works Identification Code Approved
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BMI. BMI Royalty Policy Manual
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BMI. BMI Songview Search
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BMI.com. BMI Publisher Agreement